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Sharky's Machine (1981)

 -  Action | Crime | Drama  -  18 December 1981 (USA)
6.1
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Ratings: 6.1/10 from 2,572 users  
Reviews: 55 user | 18 critic

Tom Sharky is a narcotics cop in Atlanta who's demoted to vice after a botched bust. In the depths of this lowly division, while investigating a high-dollar prostitution ring, Sharky ... See full summary »

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Title: Sharky's Machine (1981)

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Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Victor Scorelli
...
Papa
...
Lt. Friscoe
...
Donald Hotchkins
...
Arch
...
Billy Score
...
Nosh
...
Smiley
...
...
Joe Tipps
...
Mabel
Hari Rhodes ...
Highball Mary
...
Barrett
James O'Connell ...
Twigs
Edit

Storyline

Tom Sharky is a narcotics cop in Atlanta who's demoted to vice after a botched bust. In the depths of this lowly division, while investigating a high-dollar prostitution ring, Sharky stumbles across a mob murder with government ties, and responds by assembling his downtrodden fellow investigators (Sharky's "machine") to find the leaders and bring them to justice before they kill off all his partners and witnesses, including Sharky himself. Written by Unknown

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Nobody leans on Sharky's Machine. [Theatrical] See more »


Certificate:

R | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

| |

Release Date:

18 December 1981 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Brigada Anti-Crime  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The characters and actors who are the members of "Sharky's Machine" include Burt Reynolds as Tom Sharky, Brian Keith as Papa, Bernie Casey as Arch, and Richard Libertini as Nosh. Sharky's boss, Friscoe, played by Charles Durning, is the character who pen's the name "Sharky's Machine" and is arguably a member of the group as well. See more »

Goofs

When Billy Score shoots his first victims his gun has a silencer mounted on the barrel. We still hear "boom, boom" anyway. One shot is even heard from a POV outside the apartment where the killings are occurring. See more »

Quotes

Arch: Sharky, I hit his ass. He's got four bullets in him, and the fucker won't go down!
Sharky: Maybe he knows more about Zen than we do!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates Malvo (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

"Dope Bust"
(Instrumental)
Performed by Flora Purim and Buddy De Franco
By Al Capps (as A. Capps), Bob Florence (as B. Florence), Dave Pell (as D. Pell) & Snuff Garrett (as S. Garrett)
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Arguably Burt's best.
21 June 2001 | by See all my reviews

I haven't seen every single movie that Burt Reynolds has ever made, but this one (which I've just finished watching, for the third time) may very well be his best! It suffers only from some slow stretches; Burt perhaps tried to make it more "arty" than it should have been. On the other hand, he managed to avoid many of the usual cliches in the presentation of the "tough cop" role he plays (notice, for example, the scene in which he attempts to kiss Rachel Ward for the first time, or the fear he expresses just before the final showdown with the indestructible Henry Silva). In fact, Silva and those two ninja assassins are three of the most memorable villains of cop thrillers of the 80s. The film also has some offbeat touches, a surprising amount of humor, a brutal and gripping fistfight and many well-directed shots. (***)


11 of 14 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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